Say-it-in-Person Test

A cornerstone of this blog is the belief that an organization can build a communication culture that supports positive interaction while discouraging negative, personally destructive acts. So what is the enlightened office to do to encourage healthy, supportive and productive communication, be it a church or a Fortune 500 company? First off, thinking back over the immediate prior blog, if you can say something in person, don’t use email. Talking to someone personally has the impact of creating greater accountability for what a person is saying. If you can’t simply walk down the hallway to speak with someone, pick up the phone. E-mail has its place as a communication tool but it should be treated like a letter going out, versus something flippant. We should all remember that an e-mail is less personal than face to face interaction and does create a permanent record. The communicator should know that they will be evaluated on the basis of that permanent record. The defense that it is an e-mail not a formal memo should not be persuasive.